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Talking Objects

Creative engagement with the Museum:
Fieldnotes resource

London and Collective projects supported by

National projects supported by

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Creative practitioners were integral to each
Talking Objects project between 2009 and 2014, helping young people
aged 16–24 to make sense of objects and express their own
interpretations and responses to these.

Throughout Talking Objects Collective (2012–2014), the British
Museum partnered with organisations delivering accredited learning
programmes, many of which had creative practice at the core of the
organisation or the young people’s development, and so this
relationship became even more important. Not only did the creative
processes offer a way for young people to interpret objects, but
the Museum increasingly became positioned as a resource for
creative practice.

The following resources were written by creative practitioners
in collaboration with Reagan Kiser and Lorna Cruickshanks from the
Museum’s Community Partnerships Team in order to capture some of
the activities used to engage young people during Talking Objects
Collective projects.

The resources are themed around four creative media which were
key to the Talking Objects methodology: Drama and Performance,
Dance and Movement, Art and Design, and Storytelling, and
illustrate the potential offered by creative exploration in the
British Museum. We have also brought together some of the adaptable
object-based and warm up activities used in the Community
Partnerships Team with various audiences.

Using the resources:

These resources are designed for creative practitioners,
learning facilitators and community organisations hoping to engage
with objects and collections in new ways.

Each themed resource contains suggestions for self-led
activities designed and tested in the galleries of the British
Museum.

The suggested activities are meant to be adaptable for use in
any gallery or museum and with a variety of ages and
abilities.

As needed, handling objects and replicas, and ordinary everyday
objects found in the studio or classroom can be used to facilitate
these activities.

Please note that the Talking Objects Collective projects were
all based around the Lewis Chessmen so references may be made to
these in the resources. However, each of the activities is
adaptable to a range of collections, museums and galleries.